Young life savers put to the test by tough conditions

THE hustle and bustle of the Gold Coast sure is a change of pace for Mackay locals.

A group of 22 Mackay SLSC juniors spent the past week on the Gold Coast, enjoying the sights and cooling off at the pristine beaches.

But it wasn't as luxurious as it sounds for the aspiring surf life savers - they were put through their paces at a four-day training camp before testing themselves against some of the state's best competitors at Oceans 38 at Broadbeach.

"It was a lot tougher and a lot longer than the training we usually do here," Mackay's Megan Born said.

Nonetheless, Born said she enjoyed the challenge, and was happy with her Oceans 38 results.

"I came 13th in the surf race and ninth in my ironwoman event," she said.

"I didn't really know what the competition standard was like down there so we just went down there to see what would happen.

"I've been to states three times; states is bigger than that because it has the people from up north as well as down south, but it was still very tough."

Making it more challenging was the Gold Coast conditions.

Born said the surf was much larger and rougher than what Mackay surf life savers were used to.